Nestle buys Gerber for $5.5B

VEVEY, Switzerland, April 12 (UPI) -- Swiss package-food company Nestle SA said Thursday it would buy Gerber Products Co. from Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG for $5.5 billion.

The deal lets Nestle, the world's biggest food and drink company, get a baby-food brand it wanted for 13 years.

Nestle, of Vevey, Switzerland, tried to buy Gerber in 1994 but lost out to Sandoz AG, which later merged with Ciba-Geigy to form Novartis.

Thursday's deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, Nestle said.

Gerber, of Fremont, Mich., had revenue of $1.6 billion and an operating profit of $307 million last year. It has about 80 percent of the U.S. baby-food market and its products are sold in 80 countries.

It will become part of Nestle's nutrition division, which includes Jenny Craig diet foods and Neslac infant formula, Chief Executive Officer Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said.

Nestle bought Novartis' medical-nutrition division in December for $2.5 billion.

It is paying 2.8 times sales for Gerber, about the same valuation as its purchase of the other Novartis business.

Novartis, of Basel, Switzerland, is the world's fourth-largest drugmaker.